Seeking Sustainable and Efficient Energy Production and Use In a Changing World

Resources For The Future Inc, Washington DC

Investigators

Abstract

This award funds work that will help us understand how federal regulations affect oil and natural gas markets in the United States. The project will proceed in several stages. First, the research team will catalog and characterize federal regulations that affect the development of petroleum and natural gas resources. Second, they will develop methods to estimate the effects of these regulations on industry, including the possible impact of changing existing regulation. Third, they will estimate the effects of these regulations on the public, including consumers of oil and natural gas. The final part of the project will examine the overall welfare economics of lifting and/or lessening federal regulation in this sector of the economy. The project is directly relevant to issues facing the US Department of Energy, and the results will help policymakers make judgements about the appropriate types and levels of regulation in this economic sector.